In recent years, web application systems, in which content that is stored in a web server is accessed from mobile terminals, have become widespread.
In such a web application system, as an access scheme in which a mobile terminal accesses content that is stored in a web server, there is an access scheme in which a browser that is activated by a mobile terminal accesses content that is stored in the web server.
According to this access scheme, upon accessing to content in the web server, a browser on the mobile terminal stores the content in a cache area in the mobile terminal. After completion of access, when the same content is accessed from the mobile terminal the next time, the content that is stored in the cache area will be accessed, thereby obviating the need of connecting to the web server. However, according to such a general access scheme, one cannot access the content in the cache area or delete the content using an application that provides a variety of services on the mobile terminal.
A variety of techniques have been devised that improves the versatility when an application on a mobile terminal utilizes content that is stored in a cache area.
For example, JP2001-184472A and JP2004-086890A disclose a technique wherein content (script) that executes a process common to a plurality of applications (for example games) is stored in a cache area of an IC card, and only scripts that execute processes that differ among the plurality of applications are replaced each other, thereby eliminating complicated processing at the time of interchanging applications in the cache area.
According to a commonly-used technique, when one accesses content in a web server from the browser on a mobile terminal, the content is stored in a cache area in the mobile terminal. However, demands for downsizing and weight reduction of mobile terminals impose restrictions on the capacity of memory that is provided in the mobile terminal.
Furthermore, according to the commonly-used technique, when an application is activated on a mobile terminal, the application cannot recognize the state of storage of content in a cache area in the mobile terminal, that is, cannot confirm the presence or absence of content that was stored in the cache area prior to the activation thereof, that was stored in the cache area after the activation, and that belongs to other applications. Thus, the commonly-used technique is problematic in that content that is stored in the cache area cannot be designated by other content for deletion.
Still furthermore, the technique disclosed in JP2001-184472A and JP2004-086890A poses a problem wherein it cannot perform control such that, from among a plurality of applications, only a specific application is allowed to add content that constitutes a game stored in the cache area, to delete and to update the content.